Vintage Footage of the Lower East Side

Here’s some “evocative footage” of the LES circa 1967/68, when it was a bit dirtier and a lot more fun. Its a gem of pre-gentrification documentation. Nostalgia wank anyone?

Ah, the red brick-speckled horizons, uninterrupted by plasticine condos… Ah, Tompkins Square Park, full of hip cats sans strollers… Ah, the piles of trash, symbolizing the now extinct affordable rents in a neighborhood full of yet unsterilized culture, a culture just getting ready to thrive and get all ’70s Bohemian… Oh, and everything’s a little more magical with a Joshua light show. Old timers say “ow?”